About that cakewalk email that should be in your inboxes right now

[machinesworking]

I love how everyone is accepting the explanation that it's too hard etc.
MOTU did it with Digital Performer. You announce a product, you produce it.

Cakewalk explicitly announced an alpha version of Sonar for Mac and they produced it (albeit a few months late, no surprise). They've made their decision and provided a clear explanation of their reasons for not pursuing it any further in the email and on their forum. They really don't owe us anything else AFAIC.

Of course they don't, you're 100% entitled to believe that a mac alpha announced at the same time they're trying to drive sales for lifetime subscriptions is a good business practice, but that doesn't make it so. Seriously, if you think vaporware is a good practice for any company to have, we simply do not think alike.
In many ways I think the laws against vaporware put in place for publicly traded companies is something that should be adopted for all companies. Whether or not Cakewalk announced it only as an alpha only or not it's going to generate positive interest in the company, which in fact turns out to be misguided.
Cakewalk, Apple, NI etc. there are plenty of companies out there that put out good products, who do not always do the most ethical things. They might be legal, but that doesn't make it right. I'm not saying that because I hate those companies, I own products by all three, but all three have done things that are in their own interest, not the end users.

[jinotsuh]

I honestly think Cakewalk hasn't got a clue what they are doing, and it's been like this for a long, long time. They keep changing things all the time, bouncing around from one idea to another. For example the subscription model (yes it was) to the lifetime updates, to the new pricing model that gives users of any version of SONAR older than and including X3 no upgrade discount from May 1. They are working on a Mac version, which was accompanied by much noise and fanfare, now it's gone. It's like they don't know where they are going, have no direction and are just desperately clutching at straws trying to stay in the game.

[aMUSEd]

Rapture leaves literally 11GB of installer files buried in the Library folder for no good reason, essentially doubling the plug ins drive space. No real explanation, none..

Does it? Where? Can't see any Cakewalk folder in Library...

User Library, I removed it,(support said it was OK to), but it's in User/Library/Application Support/Cakewalk, installers for all the flac files...

Not seeing any installers in there for me.

[fmr]

Not seeing any installers in there for me.

That was probably an older installer, and those issues got solved since then.

[Stupid American Pig]

Spent a few minutes with the prototype, I think it is safe to say it isn't going to be of any use to me. Oh well, if I ever switch to windows, including my mac specific hardware, I will have an option. meh.

[wetdentist]

i, for one, am glad the whole Mac thing crapped out, as i did not want resources split between Windows & Mac. so, YAY!!!

[Alex Westner]

Yeah but I don't think anyone was expecting the mac alpha to be the Sonar Home Studio version on top of Codeweavers though, seems like an easy attempt to save face and appear to have done what they said they were going to do to me,

Cakewalk Staff 1 -

"Hey, we can't pull this off, the userbase aren't going to be happy, so lets use the really stripped down version, Home Studio, which has far less features and ablitlies and therefore bypass all that other hard stuff, and to make it easier, lets not worry about it being native, but hook up with Codeweavers and get it to run on that, that way we can save a little face, and appear to have given them what we promised without the expense and hard work, after all they believe anything we tell them"

Cakewalk Staff 2 -

"Yeah that might work, good idea, they really do believe anything we say. lets do it"

Cakewalk Head Honcho -

"Done deal"

Concerned Cakewalk Staff 1 -

"But what about those people who brought into the Lifetime Updates soley because of the Mac Alpha?"

Cakewalk Head Honcho -

"Well they shouldn't have taken it as gospel, we never said it was a certainty . . . we got their money now . . . Suckers"

Cute.

The reason the SONAR Mac Prototype is a version of Home Studio is because we released it for free to anyone who wants it. More advanced editions of SONAR have 3rd party products and royalties that would have made it cost prohibitive for us to make it free.

[SJ_Digriz]

I'm actually glad they are sticking with Windows. Cubase going to a "common" approach for OSX and Windows has totally f**ked up the GUI on Windows. What they really mean is they will spend a little time trying to figure out how to get the GUI to somewhat work on Windows. As a OS-X hater, it annoys the shit out of me to have a Windows app that follows the interface rules of a MAC. I can't even f'n alt+tab through the god damned project anymore. And I have this f'n stupid banner bar across the top of my screen that serves no purpose other than take up space. Those and a dozen other craptastic Macisms.

I have something weird with Cubase since 2 versions, and that's that i see the desktop, when i open it, while usually, there was a grey background. And when i minimize the Cubase window, i still see top bar. Wonder if that's normal, a bug here, or the thing you mentioned. The interesting thing is, the 32-bit version of Cubase 8.5, which i also have installed, doesn't have this, works "normal", as it always was (and i'm sure that the 64-bit version of Cubase 8.5 had the exact same thing i described, when i had it installed...).

If I remember right, there is a setting that gives you the blank background when a project isn't open. But, off the top of my head I don't recall where it is.

[SJ_Digriz]

i, for one, am glad the whole Mac thing crapped out, as i did not want resources split between Windows & Mac. so, YAY!!!

Amen! Splitting resources doesn't really capture the issue fully. It's doing things differently. So either you compromise both sides, or end up shafting one or the other instead of doing everything twice and having to understand two code bases that should be the same, but aren't. Then people bitch because different bugs show up in either side. Followed by "how come they don't just have a common code base, these guys are idiots".

[Alex Westner]

I honestly think Cakewalk hasn't got a clue what they are doing, and it's been like this for a long, long time. They keep changing things all the time, bouncing around from one idea to another. For example the subscription model (yes it was) to the lifetime updates, to the new pricing model that gives users of any version of SONAR older than and including X3 no upgrade discount from May 1. They are working on a Mac version, which was accompanied by much noise and fanfare, now it's gone. It's like they don't know where they are going, have no direction and are just desperately clutching at straws trying to stay in the game.

I take some offense to what you say.

Cakewalk has made some mistakes - including our Mac announcement from last year and our lack of communication and transparency surrounding it.

We're owning up to these mistakes and we're trying to right the ship, to set us on a clear and focused direction, and rebuild relationships with customers.

Today we have a vision, we have good strategies and place, and we're starting to execute on them.

You'll start seeing a new Cakewalk emerge from this.

[CTStump]

I honestly think Cakewalk hasn't got a clue what they are doing, and it's been like this for a long, long time. They keep changing things all the time, bouncing around from one idea to another. For example the subscription model (yes it was) to the lifetime updates, to the new pricing model that gives users of any version of SONAR older than and including X3 no upgrade discount from May 1. They are working on a Mac version, which was accompanied by much noise and fanfare, now it's gone. It's like they don't know where they are going, have no direction and are just desperately clutching at straws trying to stay in the game.

Not a wiser statement could be made, at least in my estimation. I still use project 5.2 for scratch work I'm glad it still works too bad that was dumped by Cakewalk. That new pricing scheme of dropping upgrade discounts for older versions of Sonar made my decision for me, no more upgrades which is fine I'll stick with 8.5 as long as it still loads.

Why they even mentioned an atempt at a Mac port is baffling to begin with, start the "buzz" than months(almost years) later kill the "buzz" and drop Homes Studio out to the masses while giving up for the forseeable future.

Seems par for the course I guess.

[wetdentist]

i seem to remember the Lifetime Updates deal being advertised extensively as a limited time offering, which i took them up on, and am happy i did.

i still wish, however, that Cakewalk would update Project 5 to a 64 bit version that is multi-core aware. can't they just outsource that to some company that specializes in that sort of coding? i think a lot of people would be happy with that

[CTStump]

i still wish, however, that Cakewalk would update Project 5 to a 64 bit version that is multi-core aware. can't they just outsource that to some company that specializes in that sort of coding? i think a lot of people would be happy with that

+1

You will probably get a reply that Project 5 is already 64bit in the form of Sonar because all the features were incorporated since version 8. It really isn't the same as the stand alone program in my opinion.

If they did update and release a new version I pledge to purchase a license for sure.

[SJ_Digriz]

i still wish, however, that Cakewalk would update Project 5 to a 64 bit version that is multi-core aware. can't they just outsource that to some company that specializes in that sort of coding? i think a lot of people would be happy with that

[Jim Roseberry]

i, for one, am glad the whole Mac thing crapped out, as i did not want resources split between Windows & Mac. so, YAY!!!

That was my reaction from the beginning.
Stick with what you do best... and don't dilute it.

If you didn't like Sonar running on Windows, you weren't going to like it running on OSX.
OSX is not some panacea that would magically make Sonar appealing (to those who dislike it).

A lot of comments in this thread are from an emotional origin.
A business can't be run by emotion.
Cakewalk is owned by a large heritage US company.
But, their staff is relatively small. This is true of all major audio software companies.
As such, time/resources have to be carefully planned.
The benefit of being a small company is that you can respond/change/adapt (quickly).
If the Mac port was ultimately becoming a bad business decision/direction, then the lesser of two evils is to right the ship. Persisting for the sake of persistence isn't sound business.
So, yeah... you take your "lumps" and refocus on what you do best.
I guarantee this isn't the first (and won't be the last) time a MI product didn't make it to market.

As a Windows user/proponent, I'm happy to know 100% of resources are going to be focused on Sonar Platinum for Windows.

If you're on the Mac Platform, there are numerous mature DAW applications that are proven performers.

IMO, This is an example of why you should always buy a product for "what it is" today... not "what it might be" tomorrow.